Velikie Luki: sights and history

To find vivid impressions, it is not necessary to go to the far end of the world. In Russia, there are a lot of them. For example, in the lands of Pskov and Novgorod there are many beautiful villages and towns. Their history is covered with dust of centuries, and interesting objects simply can not be considered. To such pearls of the country belongs the city of Velikie Luki, whose sights speak for themselves.

The ancient settlement was first mentioned in the Novgorod chronicle. Already in 1166, Luke on the Lovat river was a famous cultural center. The first Veliki Luke were then about three kilometers from the modern border of the city. In the twelfth century it became part of the Novgorod Republic and was of strategic importance. The local fortress, erected in 1211, was a kind of frontier point with Lithuania, for which the city received its second name - "the shoulder of Novgorod". After the fall of Novgorod Novgorod, Velikie Luki entered the Moscow Principality

Great Luke, whose attractions are so diverse, got their name from the nature of the area. The river Lovat, on the bank of which the village rises, forms steep bends. The very word "bow" means a long, large bend of the river, an arc. The second component of the toponym "great" refers not to the river, but to the city, its influence on the life of the Old Russian society.

In different periods of history Velikie Luki, whose photos fascinate and delight, were the arena of military operations. The city remembers Ivan the Terrible, whose rate was located here during the Livonian War, Stefan Batory, who seized the fortress in 1580, False Dmitry I and False Dmitry II. A glorious hail was destroyed, but again rose from the ashes, like a fairy bird Phoenix. During the Northern War, Peter I ordered the construction of a six-bastion earth fortress, the drawings of which were carried out by Leonty Magnitsky. During the Patriotic War of 1812, Velikie Luki was a significant rear base of the Russian army. Already in the nineteenth century in the city worked several plants - wax, soap, candle, tannery. Through it passed the postal tracts and the railway. The Second World War twice raced over the city.

Today in the city of Velikie Luki you can see the sights: it's a fortress that has not changed much since the time of construction, an ancient settlement of the ninth and tenth centuries, a museum of local lore and the house of academician Vinogradov, the Cathedral of the Ascension of the Lord (18th century), the estate of Musogorsky. Among the abundance of monuments are colored fountains. By the calm flow of the river, you can take a boat trip to the island of Dyatlinka.

A beautiful and modern city welcomes guests with open arms. In Velikie Luki, tourists from all over the Russian Federation come to see the sights. There are luxury hotels and more budget options, places for recreation and entertainment, shopping centers. To see the city, which played a significant role in the history of the country, it is enough to take the train. Exciting excursion will begin directly from the railway station, on the platform of the city of military glory.